i posted several months back about a book that i knew of that was being released in 2002. it was written by a women who was in the congregation that i grew up in.
she was an elder's wife and i grew up with her daughter who is my age.
the book has been published and released and is on bookstore shelves now.
I just finished the book; it's pretty good. It's an easy read; I finished it in one weekend. I would say it is pretty accurate, at least compared to my experience.
What I found most interesting, being raised a JW, is the perspective from someone who became a witness while an adult, then left. I have shared it with my husband, who struggles to understand the JW mentality...I think it will be good for him to read.
there are two things.
in the early and mid 80s there were witnesses saying that the cartoon characters the smurfs were not acceptable for witnesses.
i had two smurf cartoon books and my mother made me throw them away.
I was told by an elder's wife that if you go to a garage sale, walk through and make sure there are no Ouija boards or satanic literature (or smurfs) before you buy anything! She had heard about this sister who almost died when her bedspread (purchased at a garage sale) tried to choke her while she slept. Demons!
what effect has having a whole section of your life proved to be a falsehood had on you?.
anybody that has been a witness will understand the time, effort, comitment and money that it took to be a member.
the way it dominated our lives, affected every decision we made and shaped our future.. some have left and turned to other faiths and some (like myself) have lost all religious faith (and i make no appology for that).
Carmel, I like that, it goes right along with TheRedPill too. The WTS is very close-minded (and encourages it) as do most "religions" that exclude whole belief systems. I think open minded and tolerant is what any higher power would want of us! Putting people into little molds (religions or life choices) and categorizing them as good and bad / right and wrong is closed...
what effect has having a whole section of your life proved to be a falsehood had on you?.
anybody that has been a witness will understand the time, effort, comitment and money that it took to be a member.
the way it dominated our lives, affected every decision we made and shaped our future.. some have left and turned to other faiths and some (like myself) have lost all religious faith (and i make no appology for that).
TheRedPill - Welcome, and I really enjoyed your first post! I think you are right on the money!
what effect has having a whole section of your life proved to be a falsehood had on you?.
anybody that has been a witness will understand the time, effort, comitment and money that it took to be a member.
the way it dominated our lives, affected every decision we made and shaped our future.. some have left and turned to other faiths and some (like myself) have lost all religious faith (and i make no appology for that).
ballistic -
Trust is a huge issue for me...trust in my own judgement for sure. When everything and everyone you have believed in turns out to be a big fat lie, I think it's natural to question every single thing and everyone going forward. If I was able to believe in the WT so much, and be so wrong, I could do it again. I question myself a lot! I am a big skeptic, so I am always looking for the flaws in ideas,religion, politics, finance etc...they are pretty easy to find too, (especially if you're looking for them).
hi everyone,.
i am a new poster who is putting off their own personal story of finding this site for a while..... i find alot of people here utterly fascinating, and would like to know..... exactly what is everyones professional field of work?.
i would like to be a full time poster on this forum, but alas, the $$$$ are quite light in that field of work.. apologies if this has been asked before.. just curious.
joy2bfree - I think you have the most awesome job mentioned so far! I would much rather watch miracles happen for a living!
hi all,.
i know that when i was a j.w, the one thing i hated most was the unloving slanderous gossip that went on in most congregations.. the worst gossip that went around about me was that i was a satanist.. how about you?
One time after the meeting, I was asked into the backroom. Someone had said I had attended the recent U2 concert and since I was a pioneer, I was supposed to be setting an example for other young people in the hall. I hadn't been to the concert, but did have thier latest album, who knows where the rumor started....I wish I HAD gone to the concert.
hi everyone,.
i am a new poster who is putting off their own personal story of finding this site for a while..... i find alot of people here utterly fascinating, and would like to know..... exactly what is everyones professional field of work?.
i would like to be a full time poster on this forum, but alas, the $$$$ are quite light in that field of work.. apologies if this has been asked before.. just curious.
some really funny answers here, Seeing as how it is Monday, I am wondering what I do?
Financial Advisor most of the time...
i posted my story here a week or so ago.
and i left something out that i was shy about sharing, but now i have changed my mind for 2 reasons.
1) i feel more comfortable here everyday and feel like i can say this 2) i keep reading posts by new people who struggling to adjust and i think this might help.. after i left the witnesses and got df'd i had nowhere to go, i wanted to kill myself because i was so alone and was no one to turn to.
Thank you very much. I guess a lot of us have been close enough to the edge to look over...maybe some have fallen all the off the edge. Thank you for all the personal email as well, and I hope the suggestions help.
Salud, I too, am amazed by how many DF'd & DA'd I have heard of that have committed suicide or attempted. I heard of one in Ottawa just a couple of months ago, a young man I had known as a child (DF'd twice), now he's gone.
i posted my story here a week or so ago.
and i left something out that i was shy about sharing, but now i have changed my mind for 2 reasons.
1) i feel more comfortable here everyday and feel like i can say this 2) i keep reading posts by new people who struggling to adjust and i think this might help.. after i left the witnesses and got df'd i had nowhere to go, i wanted to kill myself because i was so alone and was no one to turn to.
I posted my story here a week or so ago. And I left something out that I was shy about sharing, but now I have changed my mind for 2 reasons. 1) I feel more comfortable here everyday and feel like I can say this 2) I keep reading posts by new people who struggling to adjust and I think this might help.
After I left the witnesses and got DF'd I had nowhere to go, I wanted to kill myself because I was so alone and was no one to turn to. I tried to overdose and did a really bad job (just got sick). After that, I went to see a professional therapist, and I had intensive counseling for 2 years. I know that is a taboo thing if you're a JW, but it saved my life. I was lucky, I found a good therapist. I know there are some real bad ones out there, but I just want anyone to know, if you are in that place and you just think you can't make it, it is okay to seek out professional therapy. I also took anti-depressants for 10 months to help me cope.
I have felt really bad about not including that in my story, but I have never shared that with anyone other than my husband and DF'd sister. So there it is, it's out there now! I hope it helps someone.
